Triple H was recently a guest on Corey Graves’ podcast “WWE After the Bell.” During the conversation, Triple H commented on Tommaso Ciampa’s comments on Lillian Garcia’s “Chasing Glory” podcast where he stated he told WWE he’d retire if he was called up to the main roster.

• Tommaso Ciampa Told WWE He’d Retire If They Moved Him To The Main Roster

“In his current place physically, could he handle the schedule?” Triple H asked noting the neck injuries Ciampa has endured. “Could he handle the grind and the wear and tear and everything else of a full run on Raw or Smackdown, right?”

Triple H noted that Ciampa is looking to maximize his time left in wrestling by working NXT’s lighter schedule.

“Even though (WWE’s) schedule has now dropped and has become much more manageable, especially if you have a family and everything else, but for him, he probably looks at it and says, ‘Look, if I was on the main roster, I have a run that’s this long. If I was on NXT with a lessened schedule and much more manageable, I have a run that’s this long.’ He’d rather do this for a long period of time and then transition into doing all the other stuff that he loves.”

Triple H also mentioned during the show that they are preparing to train Ciampa to work as a producer.

“When the time is right, he’ll be a phenomenal coach,” Triple H said of Ciampa. “He’ll be a phenomenal backstage producer. We’re letting him get experienced in that now. He goes to EVOLVE right now, and he’ll go there and he’ll sign autographs or whatever. But then during the day, he’s a producer.”

Transcriptions via 411Mania

Bray Wyatt has made his intentions known to Daniel Bryan as he has issued a statement ahead of their rematch. Wyatt beat Bryan at Survivor Series in November.

Wyatt is slated to make his next title defense against Bryan as the WWE Universal Champion at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.

Bray Wyatt Issues Warning

Wyatt took to his personal Instagram account to send a statement that starts out heartfelt before making it known how serious he is about retaining the title. He wrote the following: 

“In 2014 I had one of my favorite bouts of my career against Daniel Bryan at The Royal Rumble. Bryan was red hot, it was his time. He went on to main event WrestleMania and become the champ. Deservedly so, Bryan is without a doubt the best I’ve ever been in the ring with. Fast forward to 2020…… The Fiend vs Daniel Bryan at The Royal Rumble. Bryan is like myself in the fact that no one said, “This is a guy we should build our companies future around!”, the first time we walked in the door. 

WE had to scratch and claw, outwork, out talk, out perform everyone on the pedestal in front of us. Daniel Bryan is one of the greatest of all time. But this is not his time, it’s mine. This is when my name becomes synonymous with the industry I have given my life to. I want to thank you Bryan for the blood we’ve spilled together over the years. But understand, for me, this is my war worth dying for. The choice isn’t mine to make. Good luck.”

Regarding Wyatt’s post when he talks about 2014, Bryan and Wyatt had a feud that ended after Wyatt wanted Bryan to join The Wyatt Family alongside Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. 

Fast forward to WrestleMania 30, Wyatt suffered a loss to John Cena in a singles match. On the flip side, Bryan had a wild night. He first beat Triple H in the opening match to earn the right to headline the show. 

With this win over “The Game,” it allowed him to be added to the Triple Threat Match with Batista and Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. This is where Bryan won the championship. 

WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network. 

WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. 

• Bray Wyatt Receives Opponent At WWE Royal Rumble

WWE has updated its promotional material for upcoming events that features a match involving Roman Reigns. 

WWE will air episodes of Friday Night SmackDown at the SAP Center in San Jose on February 7th and the Rogers Arena in Vancouver on February 14th. 

Roman Reigns Match Type

Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin in a “loser eats dog food” match is being advertised for both shows. Here is the advertisement from SAPCenter.com:

WWE Friday Night SmackDown is coming to San Jose! Double Main Event! Your chance to see Daniel Bryan vs. Universal Champion ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin in a loser eats dog food match, plus SmackDown Tag Team Champions the New Day, SmackDown Women’s Champion Braun Strowman, Sasha Banks, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and more! *Card is subject to change.

Keep in mind that these matches will likely serve as dark matches for the live crowd in attendance and not air on television. 

Different Roman Reigns Match

With WWE, anything is possible and they could do the stipulation on television at some time but that hasn’t been reported up to this point. 

It was originally reported that WWE had considered booking Reigns vs. Corbin in an interesting match type at the WWE TLC pay-per-view event. 

They were at one point slated to have a dog collar match in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Target Center on the WWE Network but plans changed to them having a TLC match. 

• Baron Corbin Beats Roman Reigns At WWE TLC

As seen on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena on FOX, Reigns attacked Corbin at the start and the main event of the show.

As a result, this ultimately cost him a shot at Bray Wyatt’s Universal Title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event next month.

WWE Hall of Famer and RAW commentator Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler recently made some interesting comments with regards to the booth on Monday nights. During the most recent episode of his podcast. On The Jerry Lawler Show, the King discussed this past Monday’s episode of RAW. Specifically mentioning Samoa Joe and the angle that has seemingly begun between him and the Authors of Pain and Seth Rollins.

The AOP and Rollins laid waste to Rey Mysterio and Joe at the commentary booth on this week’s taped episode from Des Moines. Iowa.

“A little rough…”

Jerry’s co-host Sean mentioned how the third announcer position on WWE’s ‘flagship’ show is ‘a little rough’. Other performers have been working as the ‘third man’ at the booth over the past few months. Some getting involved in physical angles. Lawler responded by saying “I haven’t really heard that much about [Samoa] Joe, I don’t know if he will be back with us again this Monday. I know, I was told this first. That the whole state of the announce position there was sort of in a state of flux from the get go. The day that we switched over and [Michael] Cole and [Corey] Graves left and went over to SmackDown. And so things have just been changing.”

“…he might be back ready to go” – Jerry Lawler

Jerry Lawler also described how the commentary situation with Samoa Joe was laid out to him; “Vic [Joseph] and I were told ‘hey Joe’s going to be in there until his hand gets well.’ When Joe first came and started in there after Dio [Maddin], his hand was actually in a cast. But then the cast came off like the first week and he might be back ready to go [in the ring]. He better because it looks like he’s gonna get involved with the AOP in a hurry here.”

“…I guess they think that I might die on the air again!” – Jerry Lawler

Jerry Lawler finished by confirming that he would not be involved in any sort of physical angles going forward. This due to his previous medical history pertaining to his heart condition. “Joe had said maybe two or three different times during the show…he just sort of went off on the AOP. So when they came over to confront him I just felt like; you know they’ve got me on the ‘no touch list’ or something like that. I guess they think that I might die on the air again!”

Kenny Omega recently appeared on the Young Bucks’ “Wrestlers Ordering Room Service” YouTube show and spoke about the issues between him and his former promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“I was the lowest-paid guy on the roster for like a year and a half,” Omega said regarding his time in NJPW.

Omega and the Bucks then spend some time talking about the last couple of years they spent in New Japan. Omega then addressed his final Wrestle Kingdom match against Hiroshi Tanahashi.

“There is a huge long story with the build-up to my match with Tanahashi how they completely changed the narrative,” Omega said. “At first, it was supposed to be a 50/50 story between myself and Tanahashi, people were supposed to be torn.”

Omega has it specifically written into his AEW contract that he can wrestle with NJPW. Despite this, Omega has not returned to the company since.

“Once they knew that I was going they did whatever they could to do a complete media blitz to make it look like I was this terrible person,” Omega continued. “Once I started to pick up on that it actually inspired me to make the video that I made.”

• Kenny Omega Confirms NJPW Wasn’t Behind Japan Travel Issues

Bret Hart signed with WCW in late 1997 and debuted on Nitro that December. Hart’s time in the company is poorly reviewed by many and Hart himself has criticized WCW for not doing more with him during his time there.

Eric Bischoff addressed Hart’s WCW run on an edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast.

“Bret was probably more affected by what happened in Montreal than a lot of people felt he should have been,” Bischoff said on the show. “It was a horrible thing, it was a bad thing, completely horrible situation and all that but once it’s over, it’s over. You’ve got to kind of move on and look for something positive to do next and Bret had a hard time letting that go. He was carrying that around with him and it was pretty obvious in a lot of conversations that we had.”

Bischoff would also say that him and Bret had a lot in common outside of wrestling during this time and their conversations were often about things outside the business.

Conrad and Bischoff then watch Bret being interviewed by Gene Okerlund on an episode of Nitro during the podcast. Bischoff’s comments about Bret Hart’s time in WCW can be viewed in the player below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wC1L2LwBfg

In a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Hiroshi Tanahashi insinuated that he should get a shot at Chris Jericho’s AEW World Championship if he is victorious over him at Wrestle Kingdom. Jericho and Tanahashi will meet on the second night of the event, January 5th, 2020 inside the Tokyo Dome.

Jericho recently published a video on Instagram responding to Tanahashi’s comments. In the video, Jericho agrees to give Tanahashi an AEW World Championship match if he beats him at Wrestle Kingdom.

“What you don’t know is I speak and read perfect Japanese,” Jericho says in the video. “I read what you said about the Tokyo Dome. You said if you can beat me that you will enter the forbidden portal and request a title shot for the AEW Championship. I thought it’s a great idea. So, Le Champion asked the chairman of the board, the owner of AEW Tony Khan if it is ok to grant your request and he said yes. If you can beat me in the Tokyo Dome, I will give you a championship match for the AEW title.”

Jericho’s video can be viewed below:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B6nqekohg_y/?utm_source=ig_embed

• Hiroshi Tanahashi Wants AEW Title Shot If He Beats Chris Jericho At Wrestle Kingdom

“If the Tanahashi wins and develops into a championship, the relationship between the two organizations may be new,” a loose translation of some of the article reads. 

The December 18th, 2019 episode of AEW Dynamite ended with the Dark Order attacking several of the company’s top babyface wrestlers. The segment has been poorly reviewed by many. Jim Ross took some time on a recent episode of his “Grillin J.R” podcast to address the angle.

“It’s as if we’ve created this amazing sin that can never be duplicated,” Ross said on the show. “Since the ’70s, how many matches you think I’ve called that were the absolute drizzling sh*ts? Every brand with some big names. You ain’t gotta be an unknown under a mask to s**t the bed. I knew that the crowd did not go crazy on how we went off the air, because I was in the arena.”

Ross would continue to say that AEW management is aware of the response to the angle, however. He would continue to say hopefully something like that will not happen again.

“It was poorly-executed, folks,” JR continued. “And hopefully nothing like that will ever occur again. And I know everybody that has some ability to change things in AEW are well aware of it.”

Amongst the criticisms of the segment involved one masked Dark Order member throwing several punches which missed the mark by a solid margin. Ross addressed the viral clip as well.

https://twitter.com/ItsKlondikeBill/status/1207962353867919361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

“I don’t know what to say other than if I had not seen that clip that went viral as you mentioned, Conrad, I would not have known just how bad it was.”

Have you checked out this week’s ?@JrGrilling? podcast?

Any feedback? ? pic.twitter.com/HglI5o0IBr

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 27, 2019

Matt Hardy released the sixth edition of his “Free the Delete” series of videos on YouTube recently. In this video, Hardy battles with a devilish competitor known as “Ryzin.”

In previous videos, Hardy has been contacted by unseen voices and his own alter ego telling him he has lost his way.

Hardy’s latest video can be viewed in the player below:

Free The Delete Episode 6

“The sixth episode of “FREE THE DELETE” features “The #WOKEN DELETION”, a massive battle between Matt and Ryzin. In a cinematic fight that spans across The Hardy Compound, Matt tests his “refurbished” abilities against a DIABOLICAL Devil that the ROAR (Reservoir Of Altering Rebirth) created. The finale of this hard fought war leaves Matt shocked,” a description of the video reads.

Matt Hardy On WWE RAW

Hardy has appeared on WWE RAW in losing fashion three times in recent weeks. Bully Ray spoke about WWE’s handling of Hardy recently on Busted Open Radio.

• Hall of Famer Calls WWE’s Booking of Matt Hardy ‘Ridiculous’

“It almost seems like they take out their frustrations on Matt for whatever Jeff may have done wrong,” Bully said on the show. “Any mistake that Jeff Hardy has made anybody could make it one time or another. And that’s why he would people gang up on people like that Jeff for a mistake they made whatever mistake it is.”

The December 27th, 2019 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown aired on FOX and took place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI.

– Elias is in the ring to kick off the last SmackDown of 2019 with a song. He briefly sings about the matches scheduled for tonight’s show, and then we go to the SmackDown intro video.

– Michael Cole welcomes us to the final SmackDown of the decade as the pyro goes off in the arena. Cole and Corey Graves send us to the ring to kick the show off with a triple threat match.

– Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin: This one is a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for Bray Wyatt’s WWE Universal Title. Before the match, Corbin gets on the mic and cuts a promo on Daniel Bryan. Corbin trashes the fans now, and also takes some shots at Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns’ music hits, and Reigns comes out and starts attacking Corbin and his helpers carrying his throne. Reigns looks for a spear, but WWE officials run in and breaks up the brawl. It looks like this match is a no-go.

Winner: No contest

– Back from the break, we see Corbin yelling at producers and referees about what happened. Corbin says the Triple Threat match should be postponed further.

– The New Day & Braun Strowman vs. Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura & Sami Zayn: Big E and Cesaro start off locking up. Big E starts off strong, then Kofi tags in for the double team. Cesaro fiights back and tags in Nakamura for a double team of their own. Nakamura connects with strikes, until Kofi fires back with an elbow strike. Kofi dumps Nakamura out to ringside now, but Sami interferes in Kofi’s suicide dive attempt, leading to Nakamura taking out Kofi. Sami tags in and keeps Kofi grounded, and he taunts Big E. The fight spills out to ringside again, where Cesaro hits a cheap shot on Kofi behind the ref’s back. Cesaro sends Kofi flying over the announce table with a European Uppercut, then Big E and Strowman come over to check on their partner. Back in the ring, Cesaro and Nakamura take turns beating on Kofi now and keeping him grounded. Nakamura taunts Big E, and Big E has seen enough and he decides to run in the ring, but the ref stops him. Nakamura then hits a cheap shot on Big E to knock him down to the floor. Kofi finally fights back with the SOS on Nakamura, and the fans rally behind Kofi. Cesaro comes in to stop the tag to Strowman. Cesaro and Nakamura go back to working over Kofi again. Nakamura misses a Kinshasa attempt, and Kofi drops him with a double knee strike. Strowman gets the hot tag and cleans house. Strowman starts hitting splashes in the corner on everyone as the fans pop for Strowman. Strowman chases Sami around ringside, leading to Nakamura hitting a cheap shot on Strowman. Back in the ring, Nakamura looks for the Kinshasa on Strowman, but Strowman stops it with a clothesline. Cesaro interferes now and hits a springboard uppercut on Strowman. Big E pulls Cesaro out to the floor and throws him into the timekeeper’s area. Nakamura has grabbed The New Day’s pancake platter and he looks to use it as a weapon while Sami distracts the ref. Kofi strikes first and uses the pancake platter o Nakamura. This leads to Strowman hitting the running powerslam on Nakamura for the three count.

Winners: Braun Strowman & The New Day

– After the match, Sami complains about Kofi cheating, but it looks like the decision won’t be reversed. The New Day tries to get Braun to dance with them, but Braun isn’t having it and he shoves Kofi away. Strowman listens to the fans and he ends up returning to the ring to dance, and The New Day joins him.

– Still to come: Lacey Evans talks about what happened last week with her daughter.

– Kayla Braxton is backstage, and she informs us that they’ll have an update on the Triple Threat match later.

– Back from the commercial break, we see a replay of what happened before the Triple Threat match that was scheduled to take place earlier. Kayla informs us that King Corbin is refusing to compete, so instead it will be a singles match between Bryan and Miz.

– Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are shown backstage. They talk about Mandy being absents from Sonya’s corner last week because she was cleaning Otis’ sweat off of her. Otis walk in, and he has a fruit cake to apologize to Mandy for getting sweat on her last week. Rose takes the cake, but then leaves before Otis can sweat on her again.

– Michael Cole confirms Roman Reign’s opponent for FOX’s New Year’s Eve special: Dolph Ziggler.

– Carmella vs. Mandy Rose: We see a pre-taped promo from Carmella before the match talking about why she is Money. Sonya is notably not in Mandy’s corner. The opening bell sounds and Carmella starts off strong. Rose fights back and tries to keep Carmella grounded. Rose hits a running knee strike and starts talking trash. Carmella fights back and hits a clothesline for a two count. After trading some more pin attempts and counters, Carmella hits a superkick for the three count.

Winner: Carmella

– We see a new “coming soon” video package for Sheamus. Sheamus cuts a promo about saying that when he last SmackDown no one was worthy of facing him, but now he’s back and ready to break down the door to a whole new SmackDown.

– Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz: This one determines the #1 contender for Wyatt’s Universal Title. The bell sounds and they immediately go at it. Bryan hits a series of kicks, then the fight spills out to ringside. Back in the ring, Miz fights back, but then they both collide in the middle of the ring and go down. Baron Corbin’s security guards then hit the ring on Corbin’s orders and start attacking Bryan and Miz while they’re down.

Winner: Double DQ:

– After the bell, Miz and Bryan fight off the attackers and clear the ring.

– Corbin is shown backstage with more security. Corbin says he just took out justice, and he blames everything on Roman Reigns. Reigns has apparently been asked to leave the building, and Corbin says that makes him feel comfortable to compete again. Corbin talks some trash, but then Miz and Bryan appear and attack Corbin. Bryan and Miz start brawling with Corbin and his security as we go to commercials.

– Back from the break, Cole confirms that the Triple Threat match is back on for later tonight.

– It’s time for the FOX debut of Alexa Bliss’ “A Moment Of Bliss.” Bliss comes out an is joined by Nikki Cross. Bliss introduces her guest, Lacey Evans. They talk about Sasha Banks taunting Lacey Evans’ daughter at ringside last week. Lacey says Branks crossed a line, and she snapped last week. Lacey says she knows how Sasha and Bayley roll so she’s not leaving her back turned to them, and she excuses herself to go down to the ring to wait for Sasha and Bayley.

– Lacey Evans & Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley: Evans and Brooke get in lots of offense in the opening moments of this one. Banks starts firing up against Brooke now and Sasha stats controlling the pace. Brooke fights back and knocks Bayley off the apron then drops Banks with an enziguri. Bayley and Evans tag in and Evans starts cleaning house. Evans hits a big moonsault, but Sasha breaks up the pin attempt. This leads to some confusion on the apron, then Bayley hitting a big suplex on Evans. Brooke breaks up the pin attempt, then Bayley dumps Brooke out to ringside. Banks tags in for the double team, but Evans fights it off, then Dana tags in. Evans looks for the Woman’s Right on Sasha, but Sasha ducks and Evans hits Bayley instead. Brooke tries to roll up Sasha from behind, but Sasha reverses it into the Banks Statement, and Dana taps out.

Winners: Sasha Banks & Bayley

– Sasha and Bayley celebrate up the ramp.

– We see Dolph Ziggler talking to Mandy Rose backstage. Ziggler tries to ask out Mandy for New Year’s Eve, then Ziggler starts talking trash about Otis. Ziggler throws Otis’ fruit cake on the floor and stomps on it. King Corbin interrupts and says he needs to talk to Ziggler.

– We see a new video package looking at Mustafa Ali. Ali cuts a promo about 2019 not going according to plan for him, with injuries and losses. He says in 2020 he will chase his dream to become Champion.

– Otis is shown backstage looking at his smashed fruit cake on the floor, and he’s not happy.

– Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin: This one is a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the Universal Title. The opening bell sounds and Bryan and Miz team up early on to beat on Corbin. Corbin is down at ringside now, and Miz and Bryan start going at it with each other. Miz and Bryan trade strikes, then Bryan hits a suicide dive on Corbin at ringside. Miz misses a dropkick through the ropes, leading to Bryan throwing Miz into the ring post. Bryan hops up on the apron and hits a flying knee on Miz at ringside now. Corbin gets back in the mix now and slams Bryan into the timekeeper’s area. Corbin drops Miz next, then takes him back in the ring. Corbin dominates the next several moments of the match and he poses for the fans. Corbin hits a chokeslam backbreaker on The Miz, then Corbin brings Bryan back into the ring next. Miz gets back up and he starts teaming up with Bryan again to beat down Corbin. Miz boots Corbin in the face, then he gives Bryan a DDT. Miz unloas on Corbin with kicks now, then he puts Corbin in the Figure Four. Bryan comes off the top rope to break the hold. Bryan looks for the Labell Lock on Corbin, but Miz breaks that up. Miz and Bryan trade strikes now, until Corbin gets back up and takes out Miz with the End Of Days. Bryan breaks up the pin, then he nails Corbin with a running knee strike. Dolph Ziggler runs in and tries to interfere, and he ends up superkicking Bryan. The ref can’t do anything since there are no DQs in a Triple Threat. Ziggler tries to keep helping Corbin, but Roman Reigns runs out now to even the odds. Reigns hits the Superman punch on Ziggler, then he dumps Corbin into the crowd.

Corbin and Reigns have apparently brawled out of the arena. Miz and Bryan trade strikes and suplexes now. Miz connects with kicks until Bryan blocks one and decks him. Bryan fires back with kicks of his own now, until Miz fights back with a shin breaker. Miz tries to focus on working over Bryan’s knee now. Bryan fights back with an arm bar attempt, but he’s unable to lock it in and they scramble for position on the mat. They get up and Bryan puts Miz down with a big boot. Bryan charges for a knee strike, but Miz dodges it and hits the Skull Crushing Finale for a two count. Miz applies the Figure Four until Bryan fights out. Bryan comes back wit hthe Labelle Lock and Miz screams in pain then taps out for the finish.

Winner & new #1 contender for the Universal Title: Daniel Bryan

– After the match, The Firefly Fun House pops up on the big screen. Wyatt congratulates Bryan and says they are about to have so much fun. Wyatt says he doesn’t know if “he” is done with Bryan yet. Wyatt asks if Bryan is willing to do what it takes, and asks if Bryan is willing to let “him” in. The screen goes to black, and we see Bryan still standing in the ring. Bryan’s music plays again and he leads the crow in a Yes chant as the last SmackDown of the decade goes off the air.

The final SmackDown of 2019 aired live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:

Roman Reigns Attacked King Corbin

King Corbin complained about having to compete tonight and claimed that he earned a shot at the title by beating Roman Reigns twice. Corbin added that the WWE Universe should be begging him to defeat Bray Wyatt and become Universal Champion. Roman Reigns’ music hit and the Big Dog attacked Corbin ringside.

Reigns sent Corbin into the barricade and leveled him with a Superman Punch. Roman fired up the crowd and set up for the Spear but Corbin retreated through the crowd. WWE officials rushed the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

WAIT A MINUTE!!!#TheBigDog @WWERomanReigns is here! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/wsT1Vga1zd

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Otis Gave Mandy A Fruitcake & Carmella Picked Up A Win

Mandy Rode faced Carmella tonight on SmackDown. Before the match, Mandy asked Sonya Deville to be in her corner tonight. Deville pointed out that Mandy wasn’t ringside for her last week and Rose blamed it on Otis getting sweat all over her dress after he hugged her. Otis then showed up with a fruitcake that his mother made and gave it to Mandy. Dolph Ziggler later hit on Mandy Rose and stomped on the cake from Otis.

.@otiswwe's mama made @WWE_MandyRose her FAMOUS holiday fruitcake. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/vdyxjT0or9

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

What did @HEELZiggler just do to @otiswwe's fruit cake?!?!?!

@WWE_MandyRose #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/tfFjK8rvFU

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

?@otiswwe #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/vg40LlTpp6

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 28, 2019

Carmella and Mandy traded punches to start off the match. Carmella connected with a Hurricanrana and followed it up with a Clothesline for a two count. Mandy sent Carmella into the turnbuckle and went for a Clothesline of her own but Carmella countered into a roll-up for a two count. Carmella then hit a Superkick for the victory.

.@CarmellaWWE continues to pick up momentum with a win over @WWE_MandyRose on #SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/urhDiGsvY8

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Corbin Was Put Back Into The Main Event

The Miz battled Daniel Bryan to determine who will face The Fiend for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. Baron Corbin was originally supposed to be in this match but demanded that the match be postponed after Roman Reigns attacked him. It wasn’t postponed and he was simply removed from the match instead.

The match started out back and forth. Both superstars went for a Crossbody at the same time and crashed to the canvas. Baron Corbin’s security team then rushed the ring and started attacking Bryan and Miz to cause the match to end in a DQ. Miz connected with the Skull Crushing Finale and Bryan hit the Running Knee.

King Corbin was interviewed backstage and was informed that Roman Reigns was asked to leave the building. Bryan and Miz sprinted backstage and attacked Corbin and his security team as SmackDown went to a commercial break. After the break, it was then announced that the Triple Threat was back on for the main event.

King @BaronCorbinWWE wants to re-enter the #TripleThreat Match? @WWEDanielBryan & @mikethemiz are more than happy to oblige! ?#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/XSZznc1PO9

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

The Triple Threat match was initially supposed to start off the show but Roman Reigns interrupted that. Then Miz and Bryan were supposed to begin the 2nd hour of the show but Corbin interrupted that. In other words, WWE wasted around 30 minutes of tonight’s show only to wind up with the main event that had been advertised all week.

The Triple Threat Match is BACK ON.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/XPoDj0qCPt

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Bayley & Banks Prevailed

A Moment of Bliss returned tonight and Lacey Evans was the guest. Bliss brought up Banks taunting Evans’ daughter last week and rolled the footage. Lacey stated that her child means the world to her and that Banks would not have walked out of the arena last week if WWE officials didn’t separate them.

Evans added that she was not going to be attacked from behind tonight and made her way to the ring. Bayley and Banks then attacked Dana Brooke on the entrance ramp and Lacey made the save. A brawl broke out before WWE officials separated them. Dana and Lacey then battled Bayley and Banks in a tag team match.

.@LaceyEvansWWE joins @AlexaBliss_WWE & @NikkiCrossWWE RIGHT NOW on A #MomentOfBliss. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/PUzB8cwxzw

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Banks and Bayley isolated Dana in the ring to start things off. Brooke battled back with a Suplex and went for the cover but Sasha kicked out at two. Banks hit Evans with a cheap shot and Lacey flipped out. As the referee was preventing her from getting in the ring, Banks and Bayley capitalized by stomping on Brooke in the corner.

Bayley tagged in and applied a Headlock to Dana. Banks tagged back in and sent Brooke to the corner. Dana hit Bayley with a punch to the face and knocked her off the apron. Lacey and Bayley tagged in and Evans hit a Clothesline. Lacey planted Bayley with a Neckbreaker and followed it up with a Dropkick to Banks outside the ring.

Back in the ring, Lacey hit Bayley with an Elbow Drop and a Bronco Buster in the corner. Evans hopped up to the top rope and hit a Moonsault. Evans went for the cover but Banks broke it up at two. Lacey chased Evans around the ring and wound up running into a Bayley to Belly. Bayley went for the cover but Brooke broke it up. Dana tagged in as Lacey hit Bayley with the Woman’s Right. Sasha sent Evans into the ring post and then locked Dana in the Bank Statement for the submission victory.

.@SashaBanksWWE & @itsBayleyWWE pick up the win over @LaceyEvansWWE & @DanaBrookeWWE on #SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/Nnv4YarsSq

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Daniel Bryan Will Face The Fiend At Royal Rumble

The Miz and Daniel Bryan attacked King Corbin to start off the match. Corbin retreated out of the ring and Miz rolled up Bryan for a two count. Daniel hit Corbin with a Suicide Dive and then sent Miz into the ring post. Bryan followed it up with a knee to Miz’s face off the apron.

Corbin launched Bryan into the timekeeper’s area and slammed Miz into the barricade. Back in the ring, Miz connected with a Jawbreaker but Corbin shrugged it off and sent him into the ring post. King Corbin slid out of the ring and leveled Bryan with a Clothesline. Corbin followed it up with a Chokeslam/Backbreaker to Miz before rolling him back into the ring.

King Corbin mocked the “yes!” chant and Bryan battled back with a couple of punches. Corbin hit an uppercut and sent Bryan to the corner. Miz planted Corbin with a Neckbreaker as Bryan got back up. Daniel hit Corbin with some Yes Kicks and Miz followed it up with a Splash. Corbin planted Miz with Deep Six but turned around into a Dropkick from Bryan as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

So far it's ALL #King @BaronCorbinWWE in this HIGH-STAKES Triple Threat Match on #SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/TKnTGwI1C2

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

When SmackDown returned, The Miz had Corbin locked in the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Bryan broke it up and then applied the LeBell Lock to Corbin. The Miz broke that up and all three superstars were down on the mat. Bryan and Miz were the first two up and traded chops in the middle of the ring.

Miz booted Bryan in the face and Daniel rolled to the outside. King Corbin planted Miz with End of Days and went for a cover but Bryan broke it up at two. Corbin went for the End of Days on Bryan but Daniel escaped. Bryan hit the Running Knee but Ziggler got in the ring and hit Bryan with a Superkick. Corbin went for the cover but Roman Reigns joined the party and dragged Corbin out of the ring. Reigns took out Ziggler and Corbin as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

#TheBigDog is HERE!@WWERomanReigns makes his presence felt once again on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/gbIPXgmXGM

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Bryan and Miz were battling on the top rope when SmackDown returned. The Miz went for a Superplex but Bryan was able to hang onto the turnbuckle and Miz crashed to the canvas. The Miz connected with a Shinbreaker off the middle rope and Bryan collapsed to the mat.

The Miz hit Bryan with a series of Yes Kicks but Bryan responded with a slap to Miz’s face. Bryan unloaded some Yes Kicks of his own but Miz then caught him and booted Daniel in the knee. Bryan went for the LeBell Lock but The Miz escaped by biting Daniel’s hand. Miz hit a Skull Crushing Finale and went for the cover but Bryan kicked out. The Miz quickly locked in the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Bryan escaped and applied the LeBell Lock for the submission victory. Daniel Bryan will face The Fiend for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.

.@mikethemiz has nowhere to go!!@WWEDanielBryan #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/IFoIoWmnSJ

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

After the match, Bray Wyatt congratulated Bryan during an episode of Firefly Fun House. Bray told Daniel that The Fiend isn’t done with him yet and asked if he was willing to let him in. Bryan then started a “yes!” chant to close the show.

Is @WWEDanielBryan willing to LET HIM IN???

@WWEBrayWyatt #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/TWFf4a0uIC

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

Tonight’s main event was a solid match but there was far too much filler during this week’s episode of SmackDown. However, the storyline between Mandy Rose and Otis is oddly entertaining. I’m looking forward to another match between Bryan and The Fiend at Royal Rumble. I can only hope that WWE opts to ditch The Fiend’s red lighting in 2020.

Is @WWEDanielBryan ready to let HIM in at #RoyalRumble?

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!#SmackDown @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/sCB7EtMhc6

— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2019

WWE has crowned a new #1 contender and Bray Wyatt has received his opponent at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. 

The next challenger to Universal Championship will be Daniel Bryan. During this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena on FX, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot. 

Bray Wyatt Receives Opponent

A Triple Threat Match between Daniel Bryan, Baron Corbin, and The Miz took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to Wyatt’s title. Bryan was victorious, earning the right to challenge Wyatt for the strap at the Royal Rumble. 

WWE set up this contest after last week’s show that featured an opening segment of Bryan making his return after a brief hiatus with a new look. This led to The Miz, who lost to Wyatt at the TLC pay-per-view event, and Baron Corbin walking out. 

A traditional talking segment with all three stars making their case for why they should get a title match against Wyatt.

Eventually, Dolph Ziggler came out where the heels beat down the babyfaces. Ultimately, it set up the main event for the show with a tag team match between the four stars. 

The headliner saw Miz and Bryan team up to beat Corbin and Ziggler. This is when it was confirmed that The Miz, Bryan, and Corbin will compete in a triple threat that would take place. 

• Bayley has spent more days as WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion than anyone else.

Cody Rhodes has been rejected for his attempt to file a trademark that hits close to home for him. 

The AEW Executive Vice President recently filed to trademark the name of his late father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. However, that filing was turned down for an unexpected reason.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reached out to Cody’s legal team about the trademark filing being rejected. The team noted they are confident that this will not be a problem in the end.

Back in November, the trademark appeared to be done and Cody had ownership rights. That changed when the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office) issued a refusal last week. 

The reason for that is due to the name being too similar to Dustin Rhodes, a trademark already owned by Dustin. The filing states the following:

“Here, the marks share one term, “RHODES”, and a highly similar term ‘DUSTY/DUSTIN’, and share the same overall commercial impression of that of a surname and given name, respectively. Given the high similarity in appearance, sound, and meaning of the marks, the marks are confusingly similar.”

It also notes that both filings relating to the use description of “entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer” could be the case of confusion. 

Next Step For Cody Rhodes Attempt

Per the report, the team told the media outlet that they are in talks to take next in order to acquire the trademark and are sure they will still be able to secure the trademark.

Cody has two options right now with the trademark, which is to file an appeal or get approval from the owner of the registration that is causing the trademark to be rejected.

Cody Files To Trademark “Dusty Rhodes”

The latest on former WWE/TNA color commentator Taz appearing on AEW programming again has surfaced. 

Over the course of Friday, there were conflicting reports as to the reason why he was going to appear on Dynamite next week as well as the promotion introducing a new TV authority figure for the storylines.

It was also rumored that Taz was a name to watch for the new role. This got fans talking online despite the fact that it wasn’t confirmed by All Elite Wrestling that this is a direction they are going in.

Dave Meltzer reported on F4Wonline.com in the Daily Update that AEW currently has no plans for a TV authority figure. 

As for the reason that Taz is even appearing on the show is to do commentary alongside Excalibur and Jim Ross due to Tony Schiavone announcing the Sugar Bowl college football game on the radio that day.

Part of the speculation about Taz and AEW is due to Taz leaving his radio gig with CBS Radio. 

This appearance for Taz comes after he worked AEW Dark as a guest commentator in November. He also appeared as a special guest at the Full Gear pay-per-view from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

After doing part-time commentary work for WWE in 2000 for SmackDown, he joined the announce team in February 2001. 

Following his departure from WWE in April 2009, he signed with TNT in August of that same year where he was part of the commentary team until 2015. 

Taz Comments On Three-Person Announce Teams, Working With Vince McMahon

There was some fear that Dash Wilder may have suffered an injury. 

WWE held a live event on Thursday in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Heritage Bank Center. This is where Scott Dawson teamed with Curtis Axel with Lucha House Party and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day for a Triple Threat Tag Team Match. 

Prior to the match, Dawson cut a promo about how Wilder wasn’t able to compete because Wilder’s “jingle bells” were hurt. Dash said he would be back soon.

Thus, there was some speculation that he could’ve been recently injured and Dash Wilder is dealing with an injury as he was standing at ringside but never got physical. 

Good News Over Dash Wilder Injury Speculation 

Dave Meltzer noted in the Daily Update on F4Wonline.com that “The only thing we were told is Wilder was held off for precautionary reasons and was expected to be cleared for television tonight.”

As of this writing, there’s still no word yet on what the injury scare exactly was or when it happened. He last worked on last week’s episode of SmackDown in a Street Fight.

WWE Cincinnati, Ohio House Show Results

• WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) (c) defeat Curtis Axel & Scott Dawson and The Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Kalisto)
• Elias defeats Dolph Ziggler
• Triple Threat Tag Team Match: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defeat Carmella & Dana Brooke and Fire And Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville)
• WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Braun Strowman defeats Shinsuke Nakamura (w/Sami Zayn) (c) by DQ
• Street Fight: Roman Reigns defeats King Corbin
• Shorty G defeats Cesaro
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Title Match: Bayley (w/Sasha Banks) (c) defeats Lacey Evans
• WWE Universal Title Triple Threat Match: The Fiend (c) defeats Daniel Bryan and The Miz

Scott Dawson Says The Revival Are Struggling After Split With Randy Orton

An AEW Title match has been pushed back after changes were made to an episode of Dynamite on TNT. 

On Friday, All Elite Wrestling announced that Kris Statlander vs. AEW Women’s Champion Riho for the title on next week’s Dynamite has been scrapped over Statlander’s previous commitments. 

AEW Title Match Delayed

Now, Riho defends the AEW Women’s Title against Nyla Rose, Britt Baker, and Hikaru Shida in Fatal 4-Way Match. Statlander will take on the winner on the January 8th show in Southaven, MS.

Statement On Plans

AEW issued the following statement on their official Twitter account: 

“Due to prior commitments, Kris Statlander will not be in Jacksonville to face Riho for the #AEW Women’s World Championship on Wed, Jan 1st. Riho will still defend her championship in a 4 way match w/ Nyla Rose, Britt Baker & Hikaru Shida.

However, we are excited to announce that Kris Statlander will face the winner at the #AEW Anniversary edition of Dynamite Wednesday, Jan 8th in Southaven, MS. Tickets for both shows can be found at AEWTIX.com.”

Here is the updated card for the January 1st episode of Dynamite on TNT: 

• Will Jon Moxley accept Chris Jericho’s invitation to join The Inner Circle?
• Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros. and PAC
• Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin
• Riho defends AEW Women’s Championship against Nyla Rose, Britt Baker, and Hikaru Shida in Fatal 4-Way Match

This episode will serve as the first show of Dynamite of the new year for All Elite Wrestling after taking a week off. They will also go unopposed by WWE as next week’s episode of NXT will not be live. 

Dustin Rhodes Wants A Von Erich Brothers vs Rhodes Brothers Match

With WrestleMania 36 coming up, speculation on who will be Brock Lesnar’s opponent at the show has begun. 

Right now is typically when Lesnar takes time off before the Royal Rumble and then is featured on television for the most part until WrestleMania. 

WWE likes to keep plans for Lesnar under wraps that way word doesn’t get out before they can announce who he’ll be working with at the biggest event of the year for the company. 

Brock Lesnar’s Opponent Unknown

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that although there’s still no word yet on who Lesnar will be facing at WrestleMania with the WWE Title likely on the line, it won’t be against Cain Velasquez or Tyson Fury. 

Per the report, although Lesnar is scheduled for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, there’s no word on who he will be wrestling at the event. There’s also no word yet on if he will be defending the WWE Championship or appearing in the actual Rumble match. 

It wouldn’t be the first time that a top champion has worked the actual Rumble match instead of defending the title but that hasn’t happened in years. 

Lesnar had retained the WWE Title over Velasquez at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on Halloween in Saudi Arabia.

The WWE Champion has yet to wrestle Fury but Fury has stated that he wants a match with Lesnar. That will be on hold for now as Fury takes on Deontay Wilder in February.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. 

• Details On Brock Lesnar’s Expected WWE Return

A new report on which WWE star that Vince McMahon is backing has surfaced online. 

It’s been noted on a few different occasions that Ricochet, United States Champion Andrade, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, The Street Profits, Samoa Joe, and Aleister Black are the favorite stars of Paul Heyman, who serves as the RAW executive director. 

Vince McMahon Backing Talent

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the reason behind Erick Rowan’s push on RAW is due to the WWE Chairman and CEO.

McMahon is a fan of Rowan’s and has been “heavily behind” Rowan’s push. Thus, for people wondering why he’s been given a renewed push, that’s why. 

It also means that there are bigger things in store for him as McMahon likes to push a monster on television and that’s exactly what he’s doing with Rowan. 

Expectations

With the several names mentioned above, they are either getting a big push right now or will get one soon. With WrestleMania season about to begin starting next month with the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event and eventually WrestleMania, expect to see these stars heavily featured on television. 

His push started a few months ago when he was revealed as Roman Reigns’ attacker and not Daniel Bryan as the attacker, which was expected. Bryan as the attacker was the original plan. 

Rowan was later moved to RAW where he was slightly repackaged after teaming with Luke Harper, who was recently granted his release from the company.

• The Street Profits Discuss How They Became A Tag Team

WWE COO Triple H and trainer at the WWE Performance Center and Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently appeared on the After The Bell podcast with Corey Graves. During the show the former D-Generation X members discussed a variety of topics; notably NXT and where the brand is headed.

(HB)UK

Triple H made some interesting comments regarding NXT UK, saying that the ‘Heartbreak Kid’ has actually taken over the reigns of the project over in the United Kingdom. “The one thing that Shawn isn’t even mentioning on his end, everybody has so much going on, but as NXT was evolving to USA [Network] and picking up that pace it made me have to back out of some things,” Hunter explained. “Shawn picked up the ball on the UK and basically that got pushed his way. He was such an integral part of it anyway that he just kind of latched on more to it. He’s been heading over there, what is it? Every five or six weeks we do television. He’s kind of heading over there and spearheading that. Sort of taking on the ownership of that brand totally in and of himself.”

Jim Smallman Working Under Shawn Michaels

Triple H elaborated further, mentioning how there is still a team behind Michaels at NXT’s UK division. This includes former PROGRESS Wrestling co-owner Jim Smallman; who will be leaving the company at the end of this year to join NXT UK full time. “We still have other people that are involved in it and a team over there, Jim Smallman and everybody else. But Shawn’s really been the one that’s spearheaded that project. So on top of NXT becoming this weekly thing and everything else he has also been going over there and guiding that ship so to speak. So he’s been double busy and it’s been awesome because that brand is taking off as well.”

UFC legend Frank Mir recently appeared on the Chris Van Vliet podcast. The man who defeated Brock Lesnar in his UFC debut made some interesting comments regarding his own journey from the octagon to the squared circle. Somewhere that he envisions himself being in the future, potentially facing ‘The Beast Incarnate’ himself.

Frank Mir 1 – Brock Lesnar 1

During the interview CVV pointed out that Mir and Brock Lesnar are 1-1 in their MMA ‘feud’. Lesnar took the loss in his aforementioned UFC debut by submission. Brock Lesnar would then revenge this loss by TKO against Mir later in his MMA career. Van Vliet asked Frank Mir if he felt he could have a deciding fight against the current WWE Champion. “Right now he [Lesnar] is retired in MMA so I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get that. I think it only makes sense that the two of us fight again. I made him tap the first time, he finished me with strikes the second time. Both the fights I think were exciting for people to watch. I’m sure it bothers him every time people talk to him about me. I made him tap, I made him scream uncle. He sat there and slapped my leg asking the referee to save him from disfigurement.”

“…he kicked my ass in one of the fights”

Mir elaborated further, saying “he [Brock Lesnar] has to sleep with that. Same thing with me, he kicked my ass in one of the fights, I didn’t know where I was. Why wouldn’t he wanna go there and finish it off one last time?”

“PLEASE tell me no-one else thinks this guy is ‘just’ a pro wrestler!?”

Frank Mir also talked about how he was pressured before their first fight. “I was backstage getting ready for the fight. One of the fighters on that card, I can’t remember his name, this kid comes up to me and says ‘hey man, you gotta do this. It’s MMA versus Pro Wrestling.’ I looked around and I was like ‘oh, you think he’s a pro wrestler? PLEASE tell me no-one else thinks this guy is ‘just’ a pro wrestler!?’ The dude’s a National Champion wrestler, like legitimately. So then that actually put a lot of pressure on me, cause I’m sitting there going ‘people are going to think that he’s just a pro wrestler? NO!’ Give me anybody else, most of the pro wrestlers don’t have a background in combat. I think that’s why wrestling looks the way it looks, they don’t really know what an armbar is.”

You can check out the full interview here:

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that there are currently no plans for their events to air on American television in 2020. NJPW confirmed that this includes the 2-night Wrestle Kingdom event from January 4th to 5th, 2020.

The promotion took to Twitter to confirm the news:

In response to US fan queries

There are currently no plans for TV broadcast of NJPW events in 2020 (WK14 included) in the US.

Thank you for joining us on TV so far. We invite you to join @njpwworld for all the action in 2020, LIVE and in English!https://t.co/ldAvP7y3CH#njpw pic.twitter.com/C0gV2JuJ37

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 27, 2019

NJPW events had previously aired on AXS TV albeit on a delay. The station is focused more heavily on Impact Wrestling now, however, as Anthem Sports and Entertainment owns both companies. Anthem purchased AXS TV earlier this year and became the new broadcast home for Impact Wrestling.

NJPW events will continue to air on New Japan World live and with English commentary, however.

While no official word has been given from AXS TV on the matter, it does appear as though the relationship with New Japan which began in 2014 is now over.

NJPW also announced the formation of NJPW of American this fall.

• NJPW Announces USA Subsidiary, NJPW of America

Wrestle Kingdom Lineup

• Full Cards for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 (January 4, 2020)

• Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #1: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (with El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi) (Special Referee: Norio Honaga)
• Eight Man Tag Team Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs. Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & El Desperado)
• Eight Man Tag Team Match: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (KENTA, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi)
• IWGP Tag Team Championship: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay)
• IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Texas Deathmatch: Lance Archer (c) vs. Jon Moxley
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2 (January 5, 2020)

• Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #2: Jushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano (with Yoshiaki Fujiwara) vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee (formerly known as Dragon Lee)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
• Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. SANADA
• IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Lance Archer OR Jon Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson
• NEVER Openweight Championship: KENTA (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
• Singles Match: Loser of IWGP Heavyweight Championship match vs. Loser of IWGP Intercontinental Championship match from the previous day
• Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho 
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship: IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion

in the short history of the Smackdown Women’s Championship, nobody has held the title for more combined days than the current champion Bayley has. Bayley has surpassed Becky Lynch’s previously held record of 216 combined days as champion with today being the 217th day Bayley has spent with the title.

Bayley’s time spent with the title has been spread out amongst 2 reigns while Lynch has held the title on 3 separate occasions.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Combined Days As Champion Statistics

1. Bayley 2x 217+ days as champion.
2. Becky Lynch 3x 216 days as champion.
3. Charlotte Flair 5x 193 days as champion.
4. Naomi 2x 149 days as champion.
5. Carmella 1x 131 days as champion.
6. Alexa Bliss 2x 110 days as champion.
7. Asuka 1x 100 days as champion.
8. Natalya 1x 86 days as champion.

Bayley’s two reigns with the Smackdown Women’s Championship both came in 2019. She won the title for the first time at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in Hartford Connecticut on May 19th this year. She would then lose the title to Charlotte Flair at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view from Sacramento this October but then won it back on Smackdown just 5 days later.

• WWE SmackDown Preview: Triple Threat Headliner, One Segment

UFC legend Frank Mir recently appeared on the Chris Van Vliet podcast. The man who defeated Brock Lesnar in his UFC debut made some interesting comments regarding his own journey from the octagon to the squared circle. Somewhere that he envisions himself being in the future.

Bloodsport – Frank Mir

CVV asked Frank Mir how it was working the ‘Bloodsport‘ event earlier this year; a ‘worked shoot’ event that had many similarities to both pro wrestling and MMA. “You know working at Bloodsport and then the event they had here (Future Stars of Wrestling in Las Vegas). Those are easy transitions, because it’s grappling. That I do every day, I roll with guys all the time.”

“I’m not gonna look very good”

Frank Mir also discussed how he wanted to ‘earn’ his way in pro wrestling as he trains with friend Austin Aries learning the craft. “I was upset when CM punk got to have a UFC fight for his debut,” Mir stated. “Well if all of a sudden my first ever pro wrestling match I jumped into AEW or WWE [they would say] what an assh*le! So just on my name I jump out there. I’m not gonna look very good, I’m not going to do a great job. And what does that say to all of the guys who have worked? Have wrestled for fifty fu*king bucks, you know? I mean like it’s kind of a spit in their face.”

“I wasn’t mad at CM Punk for getting that opportunity” – Frank Mir

The mixed martial artist also made it clear that he was not upset with Punk for getting the shot in the big time. “Now I was the one upset before when the guy [Punk] came over my sport and just took another [fighter’s spot]…that was my problem. I wasn’t mad at CM Punk for getting that opportunity. I was mad because it took the opportunity away from somebody else.”

You can check out the full interview here:

Viewership data is in for this week’s edition of WWE NXT, which didn’t have its usual ratings war with All Elite Wrestling. 

Wednesday’s edition of WWE NXT averaged 831,000 viewers, which is up from the 795,000 viewers that the show drew last week that served as the final live episode of the year on the USA Network, according to ShowbuzzDaily. 

The show did a 0.22 rating n the 18-49 demo, down from the 0.27 rating the week prior. In the female viewers 18-49, it did 0.16 while the show did 0.28 in the male viewers.

Other WWE NXT Viewership Numbers

Here are the other demographics ratings: 

• Female viewers 12-34: 0.11
• Male viewers 12-34: 0.19
• Viewers 25-54: 0.24
• Viewers 50+: 0.42

Matches that took place on this show included an Open Challenge by NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong, Keith Lee and Lio Rush vs. Damian Priest and Tony Nese, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Jack Gallagher, and Dominik Dijakovic vs. Bronson Reed

In case you missed the show, you can check out the 4 takeaways from it here.

WWE will attempt to increase the WWE NXT viewership with next week’s episode, which should be interesting to see what number it pulls in.

The January 1st episode will feature the reveal of the Year-End Awards for the NXT brand. It will be a taped show. On the flip side, AEW Dynamite on TNT has a stacked show that WWE will have to compete with. 

NXT returns to its normal program on the January 8th episode and the battle with All Elite Wrestling will resume. 

With just hours until bell time, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown with a preview.

Although WWE has yet to publish the official preview for the show, two things have been announced for the show including a match and segment. 

Top Match

The big match will see Daniel Bryan, The Miz and King Corbin battle it out in a Triple Threat Match for the right to face “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble. This will serve as a #1 contender’s match for the WWE Universal Title that Wyatt holds. 

SmackDown Preview

WWE holds this show from Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast as a SmackDown preview:

• Daniel Bryan, The Miz and King Corbin battle for the right to face Bray Wyatt for the Universal Title at Royal Rumble
• Alexa Bliss welcomes Lacey Evans in the return of “A Moment of Bliss”

WWE will also be announcing matches for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.

As of this writing, no matches have been officially announced for the first PPV of the new year. That will change in the coming weeks and starting on this show. 

As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for SmackDown. 

Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.

• Kofi Kingston Speaks On Getting Removed From WWE Title Scene